1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat which can protect a passenger from load input from an exterior of the vehicle.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-060507, filed Mar. 9, 2007, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
Most front vehicle seats are provided so that a seat body is installed movably forward and backward on a pair of seat rails which are installed on a vehicle floor along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
In such vehicle seats, an energy absorption structure with respect to a lateral load input is not provided; therefore, the seat body cannot absorb collision energy of a lateral collision efficiently.
Therefore, vehicle seats which can absorb the energy of the side collision are contrived: for example, a vehicle seat in which left and right seat rails are connected via another frame which is extended along a width direction of the vehicle, a vehicle seat in which a pair of sliders of the seat body which are connected on left and right seat rails slidably are connected via a rib which is extended along the width direction of the vehicle (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-103274). Since such vehicle seats have a structure in which the seat rails and the sliders are engaged via another frame or a rib, load input is caught at a frame and ribs, and the collision energy is absorbed by collapse thereof when a side collision load is applied to the seat body.
However, conventional vehicle seats have a basic structure such that the frame and ribs extending along the width direction of the vehicle catch a side collision load which is applied to the seat body; therefore, if the frame and ribs are deformed by the load exceeding its elastic limit, the energy absorption efficiency being rapidly deteriorated there after is a concern.
In addition, if the collision load is not applied coaxially with longitudinal directions of the frame and ribs, the frame and ribs do not collapse enough but are bent. In this case, it is also feared that the energy absorption efficiency is deteriorated.